Tight Giants defense called

Giants pitcher Ritchie Clarke isn't making any rash predictions about the likely outcome of his team's Inter City series men's softball semifinal match with Poneke-Kilbirnie at Haitaitai Park, Wellington, tomorrow.
Clarke is confident Giants are capable of causing what would be a major upset by beating the star-studded P-K line-up but he also knows what will happen if they have any lapses in concentration, particularly in the field.
"Defensively we have to be tight, we can't afford to give them anything without a fight," Clarke said.
"If we make mistakes they will cane us, simple as that."
For Clarke the best chance of a Giant's win will come if they start strongly and grab an early advantage.
"We have to rattle their cage a bit and making them play catch up is the best way of doing that," he said.
"There's a hell of a lot more pressure on them mentally and the more we can add to that pressure the better for us."
Meanwhile, the Masterton Intermediate softball team have won their Super Sport tournament for the fourth consecutive time.
The 2011 tourney was played in Palmerston North this week with Masterton Intermediate scoring 50 runs and conceding just two in their four wins from as many matches.
They beat St Peters (Palmerston North) 8-2, Palmerston North Normal 21-0, Wanganui 14-0 and Ross (Palmerston North) 7-0.
Di Vante Hill-Wiremu pitched the last three games for MIS without conceding a run and Vincent Aspinall starred with the bat, recording seven hits and one walk.
Captain Jacob Elliott showed his versatility by playing at pitcher, catcher and first base and Liam Kerr made some strong plays on third base.